Chapter 019: Breakthrough

Du Fan’s expression had changed slightly; his heart was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface. In fact, he was utterly shocked.
Landy’s sword strike, though seemingly ordinary, seemed to have summoned all the moisture in the world. Du Fan faintly felt that what he was facing was not just Landy’s sword strike, but the entire universe!
It was an extremely mysterious feeling—this move seemed to conceal some profound truth of the world! If it weren’t for Landy’s aura remaining unchanged, Du Fan might have doubted that he had already crossed the threshold to the Saint realm!
With a “whoosh,” Landy’s sword finally reached Du Fan. The chaotic moisture made the world around him completely blurred. A cold smile appeared on Du Fan’s lips as he stared at the attack. He gripped Frostfall Snow tightly in his hand. Then, the combat energy he had already gathered spread throughout his body. Like a comet, he charged headlong at Landy’s fierce sword strike!
With a “boom,” it sounded as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart!
Although Landy’s move hadn’t truly summoned all the moisture in the world, Du Fan still felt as though boundless combat energy was surging toward him from all sides. He instantly sensed a “buzzing” sound coming from Frostfall Snow in his hand. If not for the fact that Frostfall Snow was also a semi-legendary weapon, it would likely have turned to dust by now!
His limbs also felt as though they might shatter at any moment, as if his body could explode into pieces at any second!
This was a feeling Du Fan had never experienced before!
Even when fighting against Saint-level experts before, Du Fan would only engage when he had a decent chance of winning, using powers several times stronger than his own.
But this time, Du Fan didn’t rely on any external powers—instead, he fought Landy’s attack with the strength within him alone. This experience was truly invaluable to him.

The chaotic combat energy around him seemed determined to tear Du Fan to pieces, his entire body trembling with combat energy, as if it might turn to dust at any moment. Finally, Du Fan mustered his last ounce of strength, no longer holding back any combat energy. With a fierce roar, he saw the once-pure combat energy on the sword tip suddenly transform into a streak of black and white lightning!

Space Rending Slash!

With its ability to devour everything—even Francis had been unable to resist it back then, let alone Randy.

Although Du Fan’s use of Space Rending Slash this time was limited in power, it was still beyond Randy’s ability to withstand. Part of the mist in the air was instantly swallowed up, and that streak of black and white lightning kept pressing toward Randy’s location!

“This is the same move you used to defeat Francis in the imperial city? Too bad! I’m not Francis!” Randy shouted fiercely. Suddenly, the combat energy spreading around him contracted and surged again, and a strange stream of combat energy struck Du Fan’s chest with a loud “boom”…

With a “snap,” Du Fan’s entire body’s combat energy, which had been maintaining Space Rending Slash, was shaken by this strike, turning into fragments of powder. He crashed to the ground with a “boom,” creating a deep pit dozens of meters across.

The ground around them was flattened by the impact of their clash, and the trees were crushed beneath it, unable to stand up again.

As for Du Fan, despite his usual good luck, he wasn’t so fortunate this time.

His entire body was covered in blood, with countless wounds. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that almost all of his skin was torn apart. He was now a mess of flesh and blood, with no intact flesh left at all!

If it weren’t for the trace of divine essence deep within Du Fan’s consciousness, the angelic power within him, and the reshaping of his essence by Chenchen earlier, he might have already turned into mere flesh fragments.

The power of Randy’s move was truly unimaginable!

Randy had already reached the edge of the deep pit. He gazed intently at Du Fan at the bottom of the pit, as if sighing softly: “Duke… you truly have some skills. I have to admit that. If I hadn’t already thought of a way to deal with you, it might be me who’s dead now… But that’s how the world works—competition and survival of the fittest… You killed countless people before, but today you’re killed by me. It’s not your fault, nor is it mine!”
With that, Randy raised his long sword high again. A vortex of water vapor quickly formed around the sword. Though not as formidable as before, it seemed even more intense…
Then, this vortex charged fiercely downward toward Du Fan with immense power!
Du Fan was struggling to get up. He inwardly smiled bitterly at his overconfidence, but in such a situation, words were useless. His body ached terribly, as if it might collapse at any moment. Facing this overwhelming attack head-on, he didn’t even have the strength to dodge!
“Boom—”
The vortex reached Du Fan. His body trembled violently with the wind speed, as if emitting a howling sound all over.
But at that moment, the faint core of divinity deep within Du Fan suddenly spun rapidly. The remaining magic and combat energy in his body seemed to be sucked into a black hole, completely consumed in an instant.
Du Fan’s expression was strange; he had no idea what was happening inside him. Yet the pain coming from deep within was even more unbearable!
A peculiar expression appeared on Randy’s face as he pressed down on his sword. But when his attack struck Du Fan, it was suddenly repelled by an invisible force!
The core of divinity deep within Du Fan continued to spin. Unlike before, an endless amount of power seemed to emerge from it. This power was neither combat energy nor magic—it appeared to be the most primal source of strength, instantly filling Du Fan’s entire body!

Streams of abundant power surged from Du Fan’s entire body at once. The numerous wounds of various sizes all over his body began to heal at a visibly rapid pace… Finally, he opened his mouth wide, and a roar like thunder erupted from it…

A constant sense of pressure throughout his body tore at Du Fan. His bones emitted a “clicking” sound, as if beans were being roasted. Beneath his skin, his once bright red blood seemed to turn entirely golden!

Suddenly, with a “boom,” a golden pillar of light shot into the sky, breaking through the clouds and reaching high into the heavens, as if something was resonating in the distance.

Du Fan floated inside this golden pillar. All his clothes had been reduced to powder, and his storage ring and Frost Snow had also fallen from his hands…

His skin became extremely delicate, with a faint golden glow on it. His long hair continued to grow rapidly, reaching several meters in length in an instant.

Finally, he slowly opened his eyes. A glint of gold flashed in his pupils, mixed with a third of surprise and seven parts confusion…

Seeing this, Randy’s face suddenly showed an expression of disbelief. His handsome face was filled with panic, and his body trembled uncontrollably as he stammered, “No… It’s impossible… How… how could he achieve such a breakthrough at this moment…?”

But before he could finish speaking, Du Fan inside the golden pillar smiled softly…

With that smile, the pillar of light slowly dissipated into nothingness in the wind.

Originally thin and frail, Du Fan now appeared strikingly handsome, as if he had suddenly grown a dozen centimeters taller.

Then, he slowly descended to the ground. With a casual flick of his hand on his storage ring, he pulled out a white robe and put it on, covering all his exposed skin. Then, he casually reached behind him, and his wildly grown hair returned to its normal length…

Randy’s face turned pale as he stared at Du Fan, who was smiling, unable to say a word.

Du Fan seemed not to see him at all. He slowly stretched out his hand and gently flicked his fingers, and soon a seed from the soil floated onto his hand. With his movement, the seed instantly took shape, turning into a flower, which then quickly withered and turned back into soil in just a moment…
Seeing this, Du Fan wore an expression of realization. He seemed to sigh softly and murmured, “Is this… what’s called a rule?”
After saying that, he slowly raised his foot, but by the time it touched the ground, Du Fan was already in front of Randy. He no longer carried any trace of the worldly scent, yet he smiled slightly at Randy and said, “Young Master Randy, shall we… continue?”